1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is equipment and systems for automated data collection and management of mobile workforce.
Field of Search: 705/2, 3, 4, 11, 21, 30, 32; 340/572.1, 572.8
2. Related Art
An unfulfilled requirement exists to be able to verify the location, arrival time and departure time of field workers in such areas as Medicaid service and in other areas, and to automate the collection and processing of these data. Prior art provides verifiable systems which rely on equipment too costly and too difficult to install and maintain except at centralized worksites. Prior art also provides methods to submit service information by telephone, but such systems provide data that are generally not verifiable and are prone to entry errors. These systems require a heavy burden of labor to capture and prepare the data for management, billing, and payroll. These systems of prior art tend to create work environments which encourage inaccurate and fraudulent entry of billable time. Other systems, such as taught by S. T. Kimmel in U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,886, provide solutions optimized for management at fixed locations such as health clinics.
Russell Bode (U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,200) describes a basic payroll system.
Dartigues et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,929) describe a “smart card” system for clinical settings.
Carroll et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,357) and (U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,264) describe a transmitter-transceiver system for hospital settings.
Wood et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,537) describe a health care accounting system.